Magnus Eunson is credited for first distilling whisky on the site that would become Highland Park in the 1790's. Outwardly he was a respectable member of Orcadian society and a preacher, while at night, he plied a trade as an illicit distiller. Legend has it that Eunson used to conceal his stock beneath the pulpit. Eventually the excise men caught up with him, but strangely proceedings were dropped.

David Robertson bought the High Park estate and founded the Highland Park distillery in 1798, which in 1816 was sold to a syndicate which ironically included Eunson’s arresting officer, John Robertson, and another former exciseman, Robert Pringle.

The present buildings at Highland Park date back to 1818 and are built of the local Walliwall stone. This is a picture postcard distillery with long low warehouses and two pagodas, which are still in use today.